Golf is a multi-billion dollar business in the United States. Millions of people play golf each year on thousands of courses, driving ranges, and other locations. Hundreds of millions of balls are made and used each year, and some estimate that billions of wooden tees are used in the US each year.
Traditional golf tees are made from wood or plastic with a very small cup portion on one end for holding a golf ball above the ground for a better strike with a golf club. Teeing up a ball allows for better control and distance than playing off of the ground. The small cup portion on traditional tees makes it difficult at times to balance the ball on the cup. The cup is made as small as practicable to limit the effect of the tee on the shot as the ball is struck.
Because the ball rests in the cup portion of the tee, some of the energy is transferred to the cup of the tee as the ball moves with respect to the tee after being struck by a club. Evidence of the energy imparted to tees is easily visible by inspecting used tees. Often, used tees have a broken cup portion, with an edge of the cup being split away from the tee, rendering the tee useless as it will no longer support a ball. Additionally, the sole of the clubhead often shows evidence of lost energy from paint or plastic from the tee transferred onto the clubhead. This transferred energy can reduce the amount of energy imparted to the ball, costing the golfer distance and control.
Similarly, with the ball having to move out of the cup portion of the tee when struck, the cup can slightly alter the flight of the ball in an inconsistent manner, such as with different rotation or action off of the clubhead than without the tee, adding some inconsistency to an already difficult game that rewards consistency.
Some solutions to these problems have been proposed by using a tee with prongs holding the ball instead of a cup. However, this tee is difficult to use as the ball is even more difficult to balance on such tees. Similarly, a brush tee has been used to reduce the energy lost with a traditional tee. Brush tees have a disadvantage of not appearing like a tee, and being large and bulky. Additionally, brush tees tend to be expensive and the bristles can become trained in undesirable ways when frequently used or when stored in golf bags.
What is needed is a golf tee that supports the ball well and provides minimal resistance to a club stroke, while having durability and maintaining form and usefulness.